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SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Oregon has taken new steps toward a potential lawsuit against the developers of its failed health insurance website by hiring a phalanx of lawyers and issuing demands for evidence and other material that could be used in a civil case against Oracle Corp.

The state Department of Justice says legal demands for potential evidence were issued Monday. Officials declined to say how many of the so-called civil investigative demands were issued or whom they target, but they’re the first such demands issued in preparation for potential litigation against Oracle.

Documents show that the state has more than quadrupled its contract with a law firm handling the case, raising it from $550,000 to more than $2.5 million.

Oracle defends its work and blames the state for the website’s shortcomings.